Hydrogen Electrolyzers

Scope / Goals

Develop an OPC UA Information Model for the integration of Electrolyzers into Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Process Control Systems (PCS), Energy Management Systems (EMS), or any other third-party tools relevant in the Hydrogen-near industry. The intention is to reduce the integration efforts of the Electrolyzers into the aforementioned systems to almost zero through manufacturer-independent standardization and use of Module Type Package (MTP). Therefore, the Hydrogen Electrolyzers companion specification shall achieve coexistence/compatibility with the MTP VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 guidelines.
The following goals are to be aimed for:

• Composition of Hydrogen Electrolysis Systems with low integration effort
• Uniform way of data and function provision for Hydrogen Electrolyzers
• Functionalities and information of the Electrolyzer also regarding specific components within the Electrolyzer will be modeled in an information model and made accessible via OPC UA
• OPC UA interface for higher-level applications for integration into DCS, PCS, EMS, or any other third-party tools relevant in the Hydrogen-near industry e.g. for operation, optimization, and maintenance of Hydrogen Electrolysis? Systems
• Enabling an aggregation of OPC UA Server on a higher level combining the different energy components

The standard will cover all Electrolyzer technologies like Alkaline, AEM, PEM or SOEC and allows the combination of technologies within one Hydrogen System Project. It will not cover other Hydrogen related components such as water treatment, dryer, compressor, storage, fuel cells or refueling stations. It is intended to have separate standards and WGs for these components with similar focus.
However, the Hydrogen Electrolyzers model will provide Hydrogen related base types that all other components and hydrogen related companion specifications should use.

The working group will focus on the orange devices in the included chart. The blue devices will be covered by other working groups.

Progress and Current Activities

• Communication Plan: The possible components and processes within a hydrogen electrolyzer and their level of information abstraction while paying attention to vendor specific technology secrets. The entry points for communication with peripheral systems and process orchestration have been defined. Attention has been paid to prevent exposing of proprietary technology.
• Use Case Specification: A variety of use cases have been identified and categorized into key areas such as Identification, Operation/Control, Monitoring, Alarms, and Status & Maintenance. These use cases serve as foundational elements for the project’s objectives, outlining the different operational scenarios where the technology will be applied.
• Current Focus: The current activity involves the collection of parameters for each identified use case. These parameters are crucial for understanding the specific technical requirements and performance metrics necessary to implement and optimize each use case effectively.
• InformationModel: An Information model is to be developed to define how data and information will be exchanged between systems, ensuring seamless integration across different technologies and stakeholders.

This structured approach aims to establish a comprehensive framework for the project’s implementation, guiding future developments and promoting collaboration among the involved parties.